


Fluff on Maine

by Mattie_the_Pand0rk



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Cats, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Other, literal fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-21 00:51:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17632955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mattie_the_Pand0rk/pseuds/Mattie_the_Pand0rk
Summary: Doctor Aster Serif is known as a compassionate, caring Monster by the masses. Beginning in the second year of actually being returned to the surface after some interesting adventures, he stumbles upon something that he didn't realize that was missing from his ever-growing family.





	Fluff on Maine

**Author's Note:**

> A few things:   
> 1\. Madlayne is my sona/original character. Do not use her at all; no one but me has permission to use her, as she literally represents me outside of fan fictions.
> 
> 2\. She is Deaf/Mute, and communicates through sign, writing, and a few pseudo-magical means. 
> 
> 3\. Asterisks (*) indicate ASL is being utilized. This is Madlayne's primary form of communication. 
> 
> 4\. This was WAY longer than I intended it to be, but I'm not apologising. 6,505 words to be exact!
> 
> 5\. I know nothing about cats, or adoption procedures, so I just kind of guessed on some things, and googled other things.

Aster is strolling out of the University’s Science building after a long day of organising a few paid internships for some of the Engineering students with the Dean and the advisers for the program. He has to pause at the bottom of the stairs to adjust his scarf. It’s chillier than he anticipated, and it’s starting to snow. He hopes that the roads up at his home aren’t too terrible yet. He can work from home without issue, but getting there while the roads are snow-covered may be difficult. With a sigh, he makes his way to the parking garage in a hurry, mind occupied with getting home and relaxing with Madlayne.

 

The garage is empty, save for his ‘Magnetic’ Grey Ford Fusion. It gleams in the harsh fluorescent lamps, and Aster smiles proudly. It’s one of the few items he was excited to acquire upon reaching the surface after hundreds of years and timelines. If he wasn’t so pressed to get home before the evening traffic becomes congested from the snow, he would appreciate it just a few moments longer. Aster moves to unlock his car when he hears a pathetic little mew echoing in the garage. It makes him pause. Did his shoe drag and make a squeaking sound? He takes another step. Another mew sounds off. He waits this time. Another sound. Cautiously, he tries to locate the source. It sounds like it’s coming from… under his tire. He sneaks up quietly, not wishing to startle a wild animal and be attacked—not that it would really harm him all that much.

 

The mewing gets faster and more desperate sounding the closer he gets, and when he ducks down to look under his car, he finds a little ball of white, black, and orange fur no bigger than two of his fingers wide writhing pathetically near his rear passenger tire. Where did this thing come from? It looks so small! He walks around and ducks down to carefully pluck the baby from its spot. It’s much too cold for it to be on the concrete. When he scoops it up, he realizes how weak the poor thing is, as it won’t even protest being handled, or purr from the warmth of his glove. He can feel his SOUL melting. It’s so tiny! “There there, little one. Come here. Let’s see if we can find you some help, hm?” He puts the runt in the breast pocket of his shirt carefully, tucked under his coat loosely so it isn’t crushed.

 

Aster sits in his car while he searches for a good veterinarian on his phone. The kitten mews now and again, but it does not sound healthy at all. He tisks and talks to it while he looks for one with good reviews, trying to keep it awake best he can. He knows admittedly nothing about cats, let alone sick kittens which are likely on the brink of death. Ah, here’s one, and they’re still open. He gives them a ring, pressing his hand to his pocket to make sure the thing is still moving. Barely. Panic is nipping at the back of his mind. He so badly doesn’t want this little one to suffer. The woman on the other end is pleasant and sweet. “Hello, thanks for calling Pine Bay Animal Hospital, this is May. How can we help you?”

 

“Hello, May. My name is Aster. I was just getting to my car when I found a terribly ill kitten under it. Is there any way someone could have a look at it?” He tries to keep as calm as possible, but the movements of the creature seem to be very weak now, after just a few minutes.

 

“Oh, of course, Aster! I’ll let the doctor know. Do you know what time you’ll be here?”  
  
He looks at his watch. “Give me about five minutes.”   
  
“Wow, really quick. Alright, see you both then!” They both hang up and Aster takes off quickly. He’s at the vet in four minutes, and rushes inside to keep the cold from setting in again. He can barely feel the little thing in his pocket now.

 

An older, silver-haired woman is seated at the desk. She looks up from under the red frames across her nose, a kind smile on her mouth that reaches to her eyes. “You must be Aster?” Her name tag reads “May.”

 

“Yes, I am. And you’re May? It’s a pleasure.” He reaches out to shake her hand, and she unabashedly accepts.

 

“Good to meet you.” The lady looks up and down at him curiously. “Um. Where is the cat?”

  
“Oh!” Aster quickly reaches into his pocket and gingerly pulls the little thing from it with one hand. “Here it is… It’s so small.”   
  
May tisks sadly. “Oh, she’s in bad shape, hm? Poor thing. Looks like the mother abandoned her. So sad.”

 

“How… How do you know it’s a female?” Aster seems very perplexed by this discovery.

 

The lady smirks and giggles. “Ah, most calico cats are girls! It’s really neat, hm?”

 

He hesitates, looking even more solemn. A daughter being abandoned by her mother? Terribly tragic. How could even an animal abandon something so precious?

 

“I’ll let the Doctor know you’re here. Could you start these papers for me while I do that?” She hands Aster a clipboard with a pen and some papers.

  
“O-Of course.” He switches hands with the cat and the pen, and fills out the information while May gets up and goes to the back. He’s petting the little thing with his thumb while he keeps an eye on her with his peripheral. She looks so sweet, and innocent. He’s sad that her mother would just drop her off to die. If he had a pet so cute, he’d treat it like a princess, undoubtedly.

 

It asks for her name, but he skips that. He just found her, and she has no tags. May comes back, and he hands her the papers back. “Thank you, Aster. We can take it from here if you need to leave. That snow looks like it’s starting to come down a bit heavier now.” She moves to take the kitten from his hand, and he hesitates. Something is nagging him. Like he doesn’t want to let it go. She mews again, her weak little paw stretching with the needle-sharp claws pricking through his glove a little. Oh…

 

“Um. Ah.. Actually, I was wondering. What are you going to do with her if she can be saved?”

 

“Well, we usually spay and neuter, then bring the cats to a shelter for adoption…” May is trying to carefully peel the claws out of his glove, seemingly unaware of Aster’s mood.  
  
And Aster is very sad. So, after this, he might not get to ever see this precious little thing again? “I… I see.” He helps hand her over. He gets even sadder. May notices, but doesn’t say anything. “Um. I’d like to pay for her care, if that’s alright?”

 

May smiles and nods. “Let me get her to the Doctor first and we can arrange something.” She leaves, and it takes all of Aster’s willpower not to follow back. He waits as patiently as he can, tapping his fingers on the counter top. His phone vibrates, and he takes it as a welcome distraction.

 

It’s Madlayne. _“Where are you??? You didn’t text saying you were on your way home! Is everything okay?”_

 

He is quick to text back. He forgot in this craziness to let her know he was going to be late! _“Sorry for forgetting to text, Madlayne! I have a slight emergency to take care of first and I’ll be home.”_  
  
“What happened???? Are you hurt, did you get attacked, or in an accident? Do I need to come get you?” Madlayne texted back quickly…. Perhaps he should explain? Would she be mad, though?

 

“ _No, no. I’m not hurt, my car is fine. I found a little kitty under my wheel and brought her to a veterinarian.”_

 

“ _Alright, are you done? The snow is getting pretty bad up here now.”_

 

Aster frowns a little. _“Almost, darling. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”_ He looks up just as May returns. He’s quick to add on a little “XOXO” to the text to Madlayne before turning his attention to the lady.

 

“Wife getting a little antsy?” May teases playfully.

 

He blushes profusely. “U-U-Uh, yeah. Yes. Ahem...” He shifts in his stance. That’s not the first time someone has commented about his connection to Madlayne. It will probably not be the last.

 

May giggles. “Well, we’ll get this all taken care of so you can get home to her then.” She sits back down at her computer and types something in. “So, normally we don’t need payment for treatments on surrenders, because they’re taken care of by the shelter we donate them to, but I spoke to the Doctor briefly and she said that the donation would be more than welcome. So, all we need is a debit or credit card...”

 

Aster reaches in for his wallet and pulls out his bank card. “Will this suffice? I don’t have a credit card yet, unfortunately.” He finds them to be pointless, since he has enough to simply draw from his accounts.

 

She takes a look at it. “Hm, yes. This doubles as a debit. There will be a surcharge for a debit transaction, though. Is that going to be alright?” Aster nods simply. He’s used to the nitpicky charges, as it hardly affects his balance anyway. She hands him the card back, and prints off a receipt for him. “Alright, Aster. Everything’s all set. Thank you for your kindness and getting help for that little dear!”   
  
He smiles bittersweetly and nods again. “It’s… my pleasure. Thank you for taking care of her.”

 

“Have a good evening!”

 

“You as well.”

 

Sighing, he shuffles back to his car to find that it’s been dusted in a thick layer of snow already, with more still falling. He summons a couple tentacles to brush off the wind shields and windows, then heads off back home. Despite needing to focus on the road, which he’s taking very slowly, his mind drifts off back to that little kitten he left behind. It feels like there’s something missing now, and it’s making him very sad.

 

How could he get attached to something so quickly, he wonders? He had that creature in his possession for ten, twenty minutes tops. Though, he always did appreciate cats and kittens, he never owned one or knew if he could really take care of one. Hell, he couldn’t hardly ever take care of Sans and Papyrus properly, either. What makes him think he could ever take care of a cat, even if they are easier than children?

 

Aster almost misses his turn up the Mountain, and skids into the corner recklessly as he realises his mistake. He nearly runs himself off the road, mid-blizzard. Though, he could just port from a spot like this if he did get stuck. Finally, though, he makes it back home. He focuses on hurrying inside and getting warm. The chill is just starting to get to him, and he lets that distract him for at least a little while. Madlayne is pacing in the kitchen… she’s started dinner already. He winces. Tonight was going to be a dinner date night where he helps her cook. Oops. He’s quick to kick his shoes off and put his coat, scarf and hat away.

 

She sees him at the door and seems to melt a little in relief, pausing a moment from her prep work. *Welcome home, Aster. I was worried, I thought you got stuck in the snow!

 

“No, no. I’m sorry I’m late, darling. I wasn’t expecting to make that detour, but I couldn’t let her stay there like that.”

 

She looks him over. She sees a small change about him, but doesn’t press for answers. Aster is an extremely compassionate Monster, she knows, and that’s all she needs to see to know that somehow that kitten worried him. Maybe still worries him. *It’s okay, I understand. Do you want to help me with this quiche? I need your whisking skills.   
  
Madlayne smiles cheekily and offers up the bowl with the whisk in it. Aster nods and gratefully steps into the kitchen to help her out. He lets the concentration needed to whisk well and saute the veggies take over for a bit. He doesn’t want to think of that poor little kitten…

 

Oops.

 

Aster’s mind continues to go back to that poor little kitty. An hour passes, and he hardly remembers helping Madlayne uncork the bottle to the wine to let it breathe. Sauteing the Brussels sprouts eludes him, but apparently they turned out nice and even, as they seem to have made it to his plate all right. He doesn’t remember sitting down next to her to eat. He only comes out of it when Madlayne is offering him the knife to take a portion of the big quiche he helped make. He realizes that he’s zoning out and straightens up, accepting the offer as happily as he can, thanking her for the reality check.

 

The rest of the meal goes off well, and it’s followed up with a nice movie and a friendly game of Scrabble. Madlayne wins the game. Her skill is impressive—but he’s not surprised in the slightest. She’s always been a bookworm for as long as he’s known her, and her ability to retain information is undoubtedly fantastic. He congratulates her for her win with a chaste kiss on her cheek, and helps her up. She yawns. Yes, time for bed. They both can take their time tomorrow, as they’ll certainly be snowed in. Not that he minds at all. Both of them have not really seen each other in a week or so much past a quick evening meal and sleeping in the same bed. She tends to leave for work much early than he can manage, and Viktor always leaves plenty of work for her to do in that time.

 

They both lay in bed, and Madlayne falls asleep rather quickly from the long day, snuggled up to Aster like the teddy bear he claims her to be. Aster, however, is wide awake. Being still in the dark has its disadvantages, as his thoughts again drift to earlier this evening. He commands a tentacle to grab his phone for him so he doesn’t disturb Madlayne awake. With his free hand, he starts researching care sheets for cats and kittens. Especially premature and abandoned kittens. He’s having difficulty reading everything without his glasses, but he makes out what he can.

 

If he’s going to be honest with himself, he does feel like he did when Sans’s growth began in that tank so long ago. He feels… like he’s going to be a father, again. Reading everything he can about babies, how to care for them, what food they need, how much attention is recommended for healthy development. It’s making him almost giddy just thinking about caring for something so small again. He almost misses how small his children used to be, how proud it made him to see them grow into wonderful Monsters. His SOUL swells a little in his Memories.

 

As he’s scrolling through care sheets and the like, one of the examples of a premature kitten happens to look a little bit like the one he found tonight. And he gets teary-eyed. He feels like he made a terrible mistake in just… handing her over like that. Surely she’ll get a nice home, if she survives the night. But, it still makes him so sad. Like this should be her forever home. But he can’t justify it. He’s never had a cat before. He knows nothing on how to care for one, even with having all the care sheets available to him. However, something about that tiny little creature that was just a crafting pompom in his hand that just sets off his fathering instincts again. He sighs.

 

Apparently it’s enough to wake Madlayne up. She sees that he’s been looking at information for sick cats and sighs herself, rolling her eyes. *Aster. You’re still thinking about that cat?

 

He nods, setting his phone aside. “I’m sorry I woke you, love.”

  
  
*It’s okay. I was having a nightmare anyway. So, why are you thinking about that cat yet?

 

Aster absently pets her hair, thinking about how to answer that question. “I’m… not sure. I feel like perhaps it was a mistake just dropping her off and leaving it at that. I feel as if I’m missing a spot in my SOUL, so to speak now.”

 

*Aster.

 

“Hm?”

 

*You should call the vet in the morning. If you want it, claim it. What’s stopping you? I know you’ve been feeling like we’ve been missing something in this house. I feel it too, you know. Maybe this is your SOUL telling you this is it?

 

“Are you sure? A kitten like her would be a bigger responsibility, and we--”

 

Madlayne puts her finger to his lips and shakes her head. *Aster, stop it. We can handle that responsibility. Trust in your SOUL. Trust in me.

 

She scoots up and plants a little kiss on his lips. “Well, if you are alright with it.” He smiles and kisses her back. “Thank you, Madlayne.”   
  


She smiles and snuggles back into him. She seems satisfied that he’s placated. Aster never allows himself the little things in life. This might be just what he needs to feel that family-style wholeness again. She still needs to talk with Sans. That’s a whole other conundrum though. Finally, Aster falls asleep, too. He seems relieved. Maybe he was worried that Madlayne wouldn’t approve of adding to their little… family?

 

The next morning, Aster wakes excitedly. Madlayne is still fast asleep, but he can’t wait. It’s already nine. Surely he could find out by now if the little one survived the night, right? He carefully reaches out to grab his phone and call the number from last night. The line is silent. Did the power go out in some of the subdivisions from the snow? He checks the power company reports. It seems that Viktor closed down his lab for the day, as well, when he checks his messages. Apparently half of the employees are snowed in, or the roads are too bad to be on. How unusual for Seattle proper. And of course, it would all happen on a day that he would be desperate for answers. His face tightens a little, clearly worried that because of the power outage the little kitten didn’t live.

 

The panda wakes slowly, realizing that her partner is awake. She signs sleepily to him. *What’d you find out? Did something happen?

 

“The power is out in half of the city, and the other half is snowed in currently. The labs are both closed, Viktor took initiative on that. And the phone line is dead at the veterinarian’s office.” Aster sighs. There’s nothing that can be done right now. But he knows that after breakfast he’ll have to start working on some downtime reports and use the remote application to do a little bit of weather monitoring for NOAA. Plenty to do to keep his mind off of things for now. Madlayne pats his cheek, and smiles. She tells him in her own way that things will be okay, that it’ll work out fine.

 

He slips out of bed to begin his day, albeit rather reluctantly. He wishes he could sleep in just a little more. Madlayne follows suit.

 

The routine is rather bland, but mercifully it keeps his mind busy. It starts off with a simple breakfast of eggs in a basket and some bacon and some fruit, and then he dives right into a bad weather report while Madlayne works on remotely doing the books for Viktor’s labs for the day. After that, they break for a longer lunch and take their time with making a hearty tomato soup, which Aster cooks on Madlayne’s instruction while she makes up some bread bowls for it. They finish up their work early following lunch, so they take this opportunity to catch up and have some proper ‘couples’ time. He is unsure if that is what he should truly call it, but he isn’t sure what else to call this relationship. As for the rest of the night, they turn in early, sure that tomorrow everything will resume as normal, if not be more chaotic considering the closures from today. Again, he’s still thinking about that kitten as he drifts off to sleep.

 

The next day, everything does indeed resume and it’s busier than an average day as everyone is playing catch-up. He’s leafing through stacks of papers that were left on his desk, sifting through results of tests of the newest model engines in the aeronautics division. He’s interpreting the results of the newest magic-based medicine being developed for Falling Monsters. Trying to understand the latest improvements on environmental protections that another team is undertaking. And then of course, he’s also filing paperwork for a new CORE to be built in the central plains of the States, which would power over a million homes and buildings several states across.

 

By the time he realizes he hadn’t called the vet’s office, it’s already been closed for half an hour. He sighs. Surely they don’t have her now. His SOUL sinks a little as he tucks the last paper in an envelope to be sent off tomorrow. Well, perhaps he can still call and find out where the little one had been sent, so he can call there and adopt her there? Going home is a heavy chore after such a long day, but he manages to get there with what little energy he has left. Madlayne is just putting the final touches on their supper—more tomato soup with fancy grilled cheese sandwiches this time. He thanks her with a light kiss to the cheek. The food gives him enough energy to last the rest of the night before turning in. Thankfully, tomorrow is Saturday and there is nothing to catch up on from working extra today, so he can rest and relax the whole weekend.

 

He wakes. Today’s the day, he tells himself. He’s going to call and **finally** adopt that sweet little kitten! Aster had tried not to toss too much in the night, as his dreams kept drifting off to watching her grow big and strong, much like Sans and Papyrus did. Giddy, he sits up in bed and calls immediately. It goes to voicemail, stating the hours for the office. Apparently they close at noon on Saturdays, and are closed on Sundays. He looks at his alarm clock. It’s half past twelve now. Groaning, he sets his phone down, without leaving a message. He finds that voicemails on weekends most places are rather useless. Now he has to wait until Monday—fantastic. Madlayne groggily wakes and sees what he was doing, immediately moving to reassure him again. This is getting frustrating for even her. She knows Aster can get obsessive when he experiences something that really truly bothers him, and she’s not really sure what else to do but try to calm him down and make him see reason. 

 

T he weekend crawls by for both of them. All Aster can think of is that he messed up and didn’t speak up when he should have. And it takes everything Madlayne has not to track down that specific doctor just to at least ask about the cat. He barely eats, his sleep is restless. He doesn’t even want to go to his private observatory up the Mountain for a little R&R. 

 

**At last.** Monday! Aster has exhausted every online resource, looked up every last recommended toy, researched every recipe for the best gourmet cat food for when the baby grows up enough to eat it, and the best formula suggested by a collective of online vets until then.  He’s shaking when he redials that phone number. Sounds like it’s busy. He groans. Madlayne texts him to find out where he’s at with it all. “What did they say?” 

 

Aster frowns. “The phones are busy. I’m not sure what to do...”

  
  
“Why not just go up there and ask them yourself instead of trying to phone them all the time?”

 

Oh. That is actually brilliant. That way, when he’s in town, he could just swing by which ever shelter they sent her to, then also stop by the pet store to at least get some starter things while the things he’ll order come in. He rushes to get dressed, barely texting a _“Thank you, xoxo”_ to her in his haste. The drive there seems to take a lot longer than he remembered, but he gets there in good time (while trying to be mindful of speeding, as the roads are still slightly treacherous from the blizzard on Thursday). 

 

He tries to be calm while he walks into the building, but he’s wringing his hands nervously behind his back. Aster sighs in relief though, when he realizes it’s May back at the desk. She’s in the middle of a phone call when he approaches, and makes eye contact with her. She’s quick to wave and smile brightly at him, hurrying to finish up the call. “Uh-hm! Yes, ma’am, we’ll be sure to put that in Pingo’s file. Yes, mm-hm. Alright, see you and Pingo in three weeks. Have a good day.” She hangs up and stands to shake Aster’s hand. “We were wondering when you were gonna show back up!”  
  
Aster reels back a step in shock. He’d been trying to call them for a while. Was there some sort of confusion, did she forget who he was? “Uh… You were?”

“Yes, silly man! We were starting to think you changed your mind on the little thing you brought in Wednesday night. We couldn’t find a phone number on file or anything to call you. It looks like you missed that part of the form. I’ll be honest, I was a little confused after seeing how you looked at that sweet girl.” 

 

“Uh...” He still seems confused as his hand drops from hers. Was it that obvious it was love at first sight with her?

 

She giggles and shakes her head, crossing her arms playfully. “We’ve been keeping her for you. We called the shelter for the paperwork so she can get tags and an actual record. She’s already much healthier thanks to Doctor Han! She just needs a name, and the fees paid for. If you would have waited one more day we were going to have to give her up to the sanctuary, you know!” She steps out from around the desk. “Wait here, Aster. Have some coffee while I go get Doctor Han or a nurse to bring you back. They’ll want to talk with you and teach you a little about your new adoption!”

 

Aster is in stunned silent while May leaves. He thinks about going to get coffee to snap himself out of it, but he can’t seem to move. All that worrying—for nothing? Well, he supposes it isn’t the first time something like that’s happened. May returns with a very short, young nurse wrapped in dog-printed scrubs. She reels back when she sees just how big Aster is, but presses forward after a quick second. “Hi! My names Abby. I’m one of the nurses that took care of the calico you brought in on Wednesday! Come on back, Aster. She and the doctor are waiting for you!”

 

“It’s good to meet you,” He replies warmly, grinning at her excitedly. He shuffles behind Abby, careful not to trail too close to the tiny girl in front of him. He ducks into the room he’s led to, and he hears that signature mewing, only much, **much** more lively than when he found her. The woman wearing the lab coat at the table is pinning the little kitten down with one hand, giving her a shot in her rear leg. It’s so small, that even this small human can hold her easily. But this time, she’s actually putting up a bigger fight. Her eyes are huge. It takes everything he has not to take her from the doctor and press her to his face. 

 

“Well, hello! You must be the Aster the other girls have all been chatting about! Nice to meet you, I’m Doctor Han.” She keeps the kitten pressed down while she turns to shake his hand with her free hand. “This one started getting more lively just this morning. She’s quite the fighter. You said you found her under your tire?”

 

“Yes,” Aster breathes, shaking her hand gratefully. “She was so weak when I found her, I was so worried...” 

 

“Well,” she chuckles, looking back down at her, “I don’t think you have to worry anymore. She’s very energetic. And she just **loves** the attention the girls were giving her. It was harder not giving her attention!” She motions to the seat on the other side of the table. Abby sits at the end, and Doctor Han pulls up a stool. “So, other than being half frozen and a total runt she’s actually as healthy as a horse! We gave her some meds for heart worms, and her starter immunizations. But she’s still too underweight to have her spayed, even though she has gained some since you brought her here. So, that will have to be done after she’s fed for a little while. We’ve also determined she’s a Maine Coon, but she’s very small for her breed even at this age. She’s only about four weeks old. Have you had any experience with nearly-newborn kittens, Aster?” 

 

He shakes his head sadly. “But I am more or less prepared. I’ve been er… reading as much material as I can about kitten care, and know that she’ll need constant care for several more weeks yet.” He’s hoping they won’t deny him, despite his lack of experience.

 

Doctor Han smiles at him and nods. “That’s good. Kittens this young need diligent care. Normally we have to put them in random foster homes until they are actually old enough to be adopted, but it seems the shelter sees this as a special case with you,  with your other credentials.”   
  
Aster blushes. He didn’t think that being the Head Royal Scientist qualified him for being a foster parent to animals. But he’ll take it. He would have been heartbroken had they given the opportunity to someone else. The kitten looks at him and mews, wriggling and trying to get to him. “May I… May I hold her?” The doctor nods and scoops her up for Aster to take. She almost leaps to him, and both ladies coo and giggle. Aster can’t help but giggle with them. “Hello, yes, hello! You remember me, don’t you?” Stars, she is the cutest thing he has ever laid his gimpy eyes on. He nuzzles her with his cheek and giggles again. He hardly pays attention to her needle claws digging into his skin while she tries to get comfortable. 

 

“So, Aster, looks like everything is in order. We can get you set up with some formula and a few other things to help you get started if you like. We just need to have you sign this paperwork, and we can get this little girl set up with some future checkups. Sound okay?” 

 

“It sounds perfect. Thank you, Doctor Han. Thank you Abby.” She lays down a pen with the papers and Aster scoots closer to fill everything out while Abby goes to gather everything up for him.   
“I can tell she’s going to have a good home. Seems you’re already treating her like royalty,” Doctor Han snorts as he tucks the kitten into his breast pocket to free up his hands.   
  
“Oh yes. She’s going to be our little princess,” he jokes. Hm. Actually, that seems to be very fitting. “I think that’s what I’ll name her, too. Princess.”   
  
“Fitting, considering none of us could seem to part with her while we were here. She loves being carried around. That probably won’t be a problem for you, will it?” 

 

Aster laughs. “No, I don’t think it will.” He pats his pocket and signs off on the rest of the papers with his signature.

 

The Doc stands and takes up the papers. “Alright, Aster, you and Princess should be all set! Be sure to set up her follow ups at the front, and grab your stuff before you leave as well! It was good to meet you, and wonderful to meet such a cute little kitty!”   
  
Aster stands next, slowly as not to startle Princess. She mews and wiggles a little in his pocket as he shrugs his coat back on. “Thank you again, Doctor Han. You took very good care with her. Thank you for saving her for me.”

 

“It’s no problem, Aster. Have a great day!”

 

“You as well.” They both part ways, and Aster has a noticeable skip in his step now that he’s gotten what he’s wanted. After paying, gathering and planning, he makes sure she’s tucked in tightly to his coat, and drives off with her gleefully. He’s thinking of all of the things he wants to buy for her, spoil her with! 

 

He rushes home to make sure she doesn’t get chilled, but as soon as they’re indoors and he’s gotten everything set out for her, he commands a tentacle to help prepare Princess’s first bottle with him while he cuddles with her in the kitchen. He can’t help himself when she starts to crawl out of his pocket and attempt to climb up his chest. Aster pulls out his phone and texts Sans. “You and Papyrus have a sister, Sans!”

 

His son shoots him back an angry text. “you agreed no more experiments you sick bastard!” Aster snorts. He gives his Dad too little credit. He takes a selfie with Princess facing the phone. She tries to paw at the screen, making for a shot that shows off her little claws and pink toe beans.  Sans is quick on the draw again. “omg pops no lmao you scared me for a second. why’d you get a cat?” 

 

“My reasoning is a bit **fuzzy** but seeing her so lonely **clawed** at my SOUL,” Aster jokes. 

 

“lmao. **furry** nice. starting the relationship with puns. always works. ttyl pops. on a date.”

 

He sends off his own ‘ttyl’ before texting Papyrus, who is much more excited with the prospect of a furry ‘sister’. Though he already has had to talk him out of trying to train her to use magic. He’s pretty sure normal cats can’t use regular magic.  He pockets his phone and takes the bottle and Princess out to feed her in the living room, both of them curled up comfortably in his inset couch. She takes the bottle quickly, sucking the formula down quickly. “Aw, you must have been so hungry!” he coos, setting the empty bottle aside. Princess mews loud and proud, writhing a little bit. Oh right.  She needs to go to the bathroom. He gets up and brings her to the bathroom to set her on a puppy pad where her litter box will be. It’s simple as cake, and it boosts his confidence with Princess just that much more. He was so worried she was going to be so weak and helpless, but she seems to be just as strong and sweet as her new adoptive family. He absently wonders if animals also have SOULs on the CoDe spectrum. But he wouldn’t dare attempt that experiment with his sweet little Princess, no he wouldn’t. 

 

M adlayne comes home early to check on Aster, since Alphys had to come in to oversee some of the smaller projects, and immediately upon seeing Princess is enamored by her. She’s almost as excited and happy as Aster with this new endeavor. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Weeks pass. She gains an obscene amount of weight fast, as well as general size. She’s fluffier with each inch she gains, each pound she grows. At two full months, Princess has already tripled in size. It baffles the vets, but they can’t find anything wrong with her. She’s spayed successfully, and given her boosters. The poor thing has to wear a cone for a while, but she doesn’t seem to mind when Aster and Madlayne get creative and make it into a cute accessory for her temporarily. They decorate it like an echo flower. And she actually likes it. For a while.

 

She grows more, her fur getting longer, fluffier. They buy her more and more toys, and make her the best food. She especially loves when Madlayne makes the food. She seems very energetic after every meal, and it seems to help her growth a lot. Her fur is beautiful, everyone that comes to visit seems to envy it, and Princess absorbs the attention proudly. She knows she’s royalty,  and owns it. But she’s always polite, despite demanding people love her. Never scratches, only playful nudges and pawing. 

 

She also seems to have developed a very strange colour combination in her eyes. Like her Dad, Princess has a purple left eye, and her right eye is a forest green,  just a few shades darker than Madlayne’s eyes . He chalks it up to the fact she’s been absorbing the ir magic being passively added to the food they make her. Not that he minds. It makes her one of a kind, just like her family. After a year, she’s already twenty-five inches long, and still growing. She absolutely loves laying on top of Madlayne when she’s sleeping, but also curls up on Aster’s chest when he’s napping. 

 

T wo years pass, and she’s already well past thirty inches long, and all fluff and sweet and sassy energy. But she’s still hardly done it seems. At three years, her growth starts to finally slow down. Princess can now lay on Aster and easily cover him from his chin to his hips. She can no longer lay on top of Madlayne as she’s too big and will crush her, but she’s just as happy to snuggle with her all the same. Doctor Han is shocked at how big this little runt has grown, and begs Aster to tell her his secrets. He simply tells her that he feeds her regularly. He can’t let people know that magic is involved, or that may be something else Humans would seek from him. 

 

Now, four years in and having grown to forty-five inches long, everyone is as happy as ever, and Princess is happy to greet and comfort anyone who walks through the front door. Aster couldn’t be more proud of her.


End file.
